Cruel thieves steal cash at fundraising charity day

At the South Coast Rabbit Rescue Family Fun Day in Havant Park yesterday, an iPhone was taken from one of the volunteer face painters, and £140 was taken from a volunteer from Brent Lodge.

Vanessa Taylor, from South Coast Rabbit Rescue, told of her sadness at the fundraiser ending with such unfortunate events.

She said: ‘We had a volunteer doing some face painting for us and the phone was taken while she was doing it.

‘It was an iPhone and a fairly new one at that so was obviously very disheartening.

‘But then we heard from the Brent Lodge volunteer that their takings of £140 had also been taken.

‘It’s heartbreaking that the event ended on such a sad note for everyone – Brent Lodge is one of the best wildlife centres around and I was so upset for them.

‘I couldn’t sleep after it happened – I just kept on thinking about how sad it was.

‘It’s an awful thing to happen, especially at a charity event, and hopefully this won’t happen again in the future.’

But South Coast Rabbit Rescue refused to give up, and has raised £200 for Brent Lodge through an appeal today.

Vanessa said: ‘We’ve managed to raise a bit more than what Brent Lodge had made on the day, which is fantastic news.

‘I am incredibly glad that we’ve been able to replace what was lost.’